Movie Type: Family-Oriented Comedy, Musical Comedy
Themes: Mischievous Children, Stop the Wrecking Ball, Discovering One's Heritage
Main Cast: Christopher Walken, Stephen Tobolowsky, Daryl Mitchell, M.C. Gainey, Diedrich Bader
Release Year: 2002
Country: US
Run Time: 88 minutes
MPAA Rating: G
Plot
This family musical enjoys the dubious distinction of being the first film ever based on a theme park attraction, the "Country Bears Jamboree" at Disneyworld. Beary Barrington (voice of Haley Joel Osment) is an adolescent bruin raised by a human family after he was found by a park ranger, abandoned in the forest. Curious about his biological roots, Beary travels to Tennessee to seek out his birth parents while attempting to locate the members of his favorite musical group -- a defunct country music act called the Country Bears -- along the way. Country Bear Hall, the famed venue where the band was launched, is facing imminent destruction at the hands of greedy banker Reed Thimple (Christopher Walken), but young Beary has a plan to save the hall by staging a reunion benefit concert. Beary's path takes him through a guitar duel, a vintage coffee house, and a car wash, as he's pursued by a pair of bumbling cops (Diedrich Bader and Daryl "Chill" Mitchell) trying to reunite him with his adoptive parents. Meanwhile, a panoply of musical legends including Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Elton John, and Queen Latifah appear Behind the Music-style to comment on the Country Bears' alleged artistic influence on their work. The Country Bears, the first in a pair of planned Disney projects based on the company's theme park rides (the second is slated to be based on "Pirates of the Caribbean"), co-stars Stephen Tobolowsky, Brad Garrett, Alex Rocco, and Stephen Root. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Review
Don't believe the critics. With songs by John Hiatt, vocals by Hiatt, Don Henley, and Bonnie Raitt, and appearances by Christopher Walken, Queen Latifah, and rockabilly hero Brian Setzer, The Country Bears is far hipper than the animatronic troupe of fuzz balls from the old Disneyland theme show. The fantasy story plays out like a fur-covered The Commitments, with a bright dose of the old "let's put on a show" plot twist, but the young target audience won't find the familiar story line tiresome in the least, and parents will be relieved to see the Bears have soul, not just in their tunes but also in their intentions as well. Only the crustiest curmudgeon will complain that none of the humans in the film question the fact that the bears talk, walk upright, wear clothing, and can play guitar. This warm and fuzzy winner was drummed out of theaters by tepid reviews (a situation which unfortunately may preclude sequels), but the small screen at home may be the best place to watch this anyway. The Country Bears deserves an audience. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
Maria Baker - Art Director, John G. Scotti - Associate Producer, Ruth Lambert - Casting, Genevieve Tyrrell - Costume Designer, John G. Scotti - First Assistant Director, Peter Hastings - Director, George Bowers - Editor, Seth Flaum - Editor, Christopher Young - Composer (Music Score), Nora Felder - Musical Direction/Supervision, John Hiatt - Songwriter, Dan Bishop - Production Designer, C. Mitchell Amundsen - Cinematographer, Jeffrey Chernov - Producer, Andrew Gunn - Producer, Kathe Klopp - Set Designer, Mary Finn - Set Designer, Steve Nelson - Sound/Sound Designer, Mark Perez - Screenwriter, Jim Henson's Creature Shop - Animatronic Effects, Kathe Klopp - Set Decorator
Beary Barrington, a young bear raised by a human family in a world where humans and talking bears coexist, attempts to trace his roots. He meets up with the Country Bears, a long-since broken-up band, a parody of bands like the Eagles. Beary helps the Country Bears reunite for one final concert, while searching for who he truly is. Thanks to Beary the Country Bears realize how wrong they were to break up which they did due to various petty arguments that escalated and Beary returns home to his family who he realized truly do care about him even his brother who somewhat bullies him. The Bears, after reading an essay Beary wrote about them decide to do the concert to save Country Bear Hall, the place they used to perform at but refuse to do so without Beary who brought them back together. They go to get him and his family, but while Ted Betterhead, the band leader who was the most reluctant to reunite is apologizing to Beary and explaining everything to him, Thimble (Christopher Walken), the villain who wants to destroy Country Bear Hall (Grizzly Hall), kidnaps the rest of the Bears. Thanks to an idea from Dex, Beary's older brother Ted, Beary and Beary's family are able to track down and rescue the Bears and head to the concert together. Unfortunately the guy they hired to promote it was paid off by Thimble not to and didn't so it looks like they aren't going to be able to save the Hall after all. But then Big Al, the caretaker of the hall reveals that everyone was just out back and when he opens the door a massive amount of people rush in. The money from the concert is revealed to be enough to save the hall and the Bears perform the concert with Beary now as a member of the band.
The film was a box office bomb; budgeted at US$35 million, it grossed only $16,990,825 in the US and an additional $1,021,272 overseas. The film was released on DVD and VHS in December 17, 2002. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film only received a 26% positive rating. Film critic Roger Ebert said "the formidable technical skills in The Country Bears must not be allowed to distract from the film's terminal inanity." Critic Sean O'Connell said of the film "Bears is bad. Not 'terrible filmmaking' bad, but more like, 'I once had a nightmare like this, and it's now coming true' bad." It had a few positive reviews but most criticized it for lacking entertaining acting or an enjoyable storyline.
"Despite all the celebrities on hand, this spin-off from a theme park attraction still feels tired and hokey." -Rotten Tomatoes
It was even nominated for a Razzie award for worst-supporting actor.[2]
